This is one of those things that I think a lot of people take for granted,Ā but to many itās just so much magic.
So, a quick look at what it means when you choose between āRunā and āSaveāĀ when downloading a file.
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Downloads
A download is nothing more than transferring a file from āup thereā ā typically a server on the internet ā to your computer ādown hereā.
TheĀ file being downloaded can be anything. It could be a program that youāve elected to get for your computer, it could be a picture that was attached to an email youāre viewing on line, or it could beĀ a PDF document that you just purchased at a popular online source of computer books.
It could be anything.
The difference between Run and Save is two-fold:
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Letās look at each in turn.
Run
When you select Run on a download, itĀ begins a two-stepĀ process:
- The file youāve requested is downloaded to your machine and placed in a temporary location.
- The file is then run exactly as if you had used Windows Explorer toĀ navigate to the temporary location and double-clicked the file.
The temporary location is either your browserās cache or temporary folder, or one of your Windows temporary folders. Which itĀ is, actually doesnāt matter, simply because itās temporary. The file isnāt meant to be something youād actually try to access directly. In fact, it really only needs to be preserved long enoughĀ for the āRunā that happens next, and could be deleted at any time thereafter.
What it means to ārunā a fileĀ can mean several things.
- If the file is a ā.exeā file, thatās aĀ program, and running it means exactly that: the program is loaded into memoryĀ and Windows runs it.
- If the file is a ā.pdfā file, thatās a document, and running it means that the PDF viewer installed on your machine is run, and toldĀ to open the document for you to view.
- If the file is a ā.jpgā file, thatās a picture, and running it means that the image viewer configured on your computer is run and told to open the picture for you to view.
- And so onā¦
Hopefully, you get the idea. Run means either run the downloaded program, or run the program that knows how to deal with the type of file you just downloaded.
One important thing to reiterateĀ about using Run: the file wasĀ downloaded into a temporary location, and it may eventually beĀ deleted. In fact, it almost certainly will, if you wait long enough.
Thatās why Save exists.
Save
When you select Save (sometimes only offered asĀ SaveĀ Asā¦) in response to a download, the browser simply downloads theĀ file.
Thatās it.
The file is copied to your computer, and itās then up to youĀ to do something with it.
The big difference is that itās not downloaded into a temporaryĀ location. The file is downloaded into either:
- AĀ default folder, such as āMy Documentsā or āDownloadsā (often the default when you select Save).
- AĀ folder that you specify in response to a āSave Asā¦ā dialog (the action when you specify Save Asā¦).
The file is placed into a folder that you specify or know how to access, and will not be automatically deleted.
Like I said, you have to decide what to do with it and when.
It could be as simple as leaving it where it is, and using Windows ExplorerĀ to locate and then double click on the file whenever you want to use it in theĀ future. Or you could move it to a different location to backup and archive it.Ā Or you could do something else entirely.
Save and run
Internet Explorer, at least, has a third option: Save and run.
This combines what weāve seen so far:
- The file is saved to a known, not temporary, location.
- The file is then run.
Which to choose?
When might you use one or the other?
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- Run: Choose Run when you only need the download once. Perhaps itās a songĀ or video you only plan to listen to or watch once. Another scenario might be anĀ installation program that, when run, installs software on your machine in other,Ā permanent locations. Once installed, you probably donāt need the installerĀ again.
- Save: When you want to keep whatever it is youāveĀ downloaded, choose Save. You can still run it, or whatever else youād like to do with it,Ā but youāll need to do that yourself. Youāll also want to decide where, on your computer, to keep the file.
- Save and run: Use this option when you want to do both: save the file to a location you control, and then immediately run it.
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Do this
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I'll see you there!
i donāt know what happened, but my comment was cut off. Anyway now I can ārunā it now or āsaveā it for later.
Run lets you play or use the data you want at the moment off the disc or website you are on. Save keeps it on your hard drive so you can use it anytime you want without a disc or going to the website.
Another great value of SAVE is when you are downloading something you want to move and run on another machine.
I NEVER, use the Run. I use the āSave Asā so that I can scan the file for viruses.
Run is just to damn risky in my opinion.
I agree 100% with Scott. By using āSaveā you can scan for viruses before opening the file. If you just use āRunā who knows what you have downloaded besides the file. I am sooooo very surprised that āAsk Leoā didnāt bring this up in his answer.
Yes, you and Scottās comment is very true ā why Leo didnāt mention it, I have no idea!
The vast majority of antivirus programs check all installation programs for malware upon execution. So if youāre running the AV in real time scanning mode, you are equally protected using either save or run.
I would rather check before executionā¦. Plus I check with more than one AV. I use Spysweeper and Malwarebytes to scan it and have Hitman Pro standing by in the cloud.
Once itās on your computer, youāre pretty much done, especially today. Note even IE11 has a āchecking for virusesā in the lower left part of the the pop-up. So itās automatic and integrated. I donāt know about other browsers, but Iād guess itās been a standard for some time.
My computer behaves (now) at āSaveā almost like at āRunā. I meanā¦ It looks like it downloads the file somewhere (I donāt know where), then, after a (long) time, the āSave toā dialog box appears and the saving takes only 1 second (regardless the file width).
See screen caps at {broken link removed}
Whatās going on?
I was ttrying to help a friend reinstall a program that had been installed by our IT Department. In anticipation of his question (do I select run or save?), I submittted the question to Goggle. I tried a few sites. Your site was, without doubt, the most targeted and helpful response. Thank you so much!
I downloaded a long file to run and for some reason I was disconnected from the web. I found the file and saved it but then didnāt know what to open the file with. Nothing worked. So I gave up and deleted the saved file and went to redownload. Apparently the run file was still there and the install proceeded without another long download. I donāt know what was used to open the run file but I am glad it worked.
as scott and especially glorya im very surprised that leo didnt mention the better security of SAVE. There are things to discuss here, like how much safe is SAVE itself?
Thank you, Leo and thank you all for this great input. I knew what āRunā does (sort of) and I knew what āSaveā does, I just wasnāt sure when to Run or Save. Your opinions and reasons work for me! Luv this website, Iāll be back
I purchased a microsoft office package and I am not sure if I should click on save or run. Since this is a very expensive purchase I realli need to be sure. In case I donāt get any response I will just clik on run because that is how i did it with my messenger and it works fine. I need help!!
IāVE SAVED FILES FROM MININOVA AND WINDOWS MEDIA DOES THE USUAL REJECTION.IāM ACHING TO BURN TO CD WITH SOME OF THE ALBUMS THEY HAVE LISTED!
Why capitals? Bizarreā¦ā¦.
I need to download a driver from dell website for another computer, but when I download it I donāt get the option to run or save. I need to save it. It gets downloaded and allows me to intall/donāt install, but I donāt need it for this computer. How do I fix this?
02-Apr-2010
I generally will āsaveā the file. I put it in a specific location if I want to keep the file but I will save to my desktop even when I just want to run it ā in case something happens and I have to restart the loading. Then it is is to find and available to just run from my desktop without a new download. Once it has successfully installed I delete it from my desktop. The larger the download the more helpful this can be. The last step of deleting the installation files helps generally to keep a cleaner desktop.
Hi Leo, great article. I was taught that anything you download directly from the web bypassās your anti-virus. By default I will only save a download to the desktop, right click on it and run a scan for virusās before either saving it to a folder or running it. Is this being over protective?
I save files to my desktop instead of run most of the time. Then I check it with Spysweeper before I open it up. Just to be on the safe side.
So..if Iām downloading transcription software, I should save it, correct?
08-Nov-2010
just want to thank you for being direct and to commend you for your clarity
what if i save and at the same time i run the file?
01-Apr-2011
Hi. I have download webcall direct software from internet and save it. But when i am trying to run it I am failing. It is not running. so what may be the problem?
28-Jun-2011
Thank you for an excellent response: concise and perfectly clear.
I have been trying all day to get my answer in terms I could understand. You gave me my answer very quickly. I had no problem understanding. Thank You! I know who to contact for now on.
Yours is the best explanation of the several I read. Thank you.
Hey Leo. Great explanation of save and run. Shouldnāt you have explained about save and save as? I mean in my newsletters I publish, I use save to overwrite a file just before, and save as if I want to keep the old file but make a new one. Also, what about saving where the publisher recommends it to go, but you want it to another place? Save as seems to be the only way I can see to do that.
Thanksā¦ JR.
For many browsers save as is the same as save (thatās why I show the whole dialog box and so on above).
The publisher does not determine where the file is downloaded ā the browser does that.
Most of the time the file you download and save is only the installer for the file still left on the website you were at for the program. I noticed this a long time ago and now I try to get to the website and download the .exe file for the complete program. I do this because I have a friend who has no way to go online and I get him upgrades of programs such as firefox and others. Then he can simply run the file without any other internet connection. I do this for virus checkers and for programs which check for malware too.
Very clear as always. One further point: I thought saving a file or program meant that the anti-virus software had a chance to ācheckā it, while this does not happen with running. I see Brad from Australia has made the same point. Is this not a very important distiction, if true?
Actually it may not be a distinction at all. It really depends on the specific security software. Some (most?) will scan the file as it arrives, regardless of Run or Save.
Thank you for teaching me some thing that I did not know . This is a great job you are doing . God bless you.
One thing to keep in mind is that different browsers handle this differently. For example, I use Firefox, and the specifics are a little different. It offers the choice of āOpen withā or āSave fileā. āSave fileā, of course, saves the file in your default download folder, but āOpen withā in Firefox runs the default program associated with the file if there is one or asks you to choose a default program if there isnāt, but it also saves the file in your default download folder without deleting it. If it is a .exe file, it saves it in the download folder and runs it.
And probably if you are reading this in a few months, things will have changed in Firefox :(
Thanks Leo. Great websiteā¦
I have SAVED 4 VPN Downloadās also 2 Firefox, I see them in my download box, by each one it offersā¦ RUN, Does this mean they are NOT ACTIVE until I Run them ?, For I have been offered a turn ON and OFF from the VPN Company suggesting I am up and running with them with Only Having Saved them to my Downloads. Just concerned having not Run them, am I protected as it appears I am but wanted your opinion. Yes or No. Thank You.
Download is not the same as run. Download is exactly and ONLY that ā it copies a file from the internet to your computer. It does not run it, it does not install it, it does not activate it.
Exactly how youāre supposed to use this VPN or whatever depends ENTIRELY on the VPN service itself. Check their site for information on how to install and set up.
If your VPN is working and you have a downloaded installation file, it might be that youād previously run the installation for that program, or the version you have saved is an update file to be installed.